Nobody could recreate the 1913 Armory Show as it originally existed, with approximately 1300 works of art by over 300 European and American artists. Two museums have recently tried to stage an evocation of it, in honor of its centenary, and although I liked the first show a lot, I like the second even better.

The Montclair Art Museum is an easy commute. The De Camp Bus lines’ #33 route from Port Authority decants you on the doorstep of the museum in only 40 minutes or so, and the museum has long had a reputation for exhibitions that match the ambition – if not the scale – of Manhattan’ s museums. A year or so ago, I vastly enjoyed its presentation of “Cézanne in America,” and this time, I looked forward to seeing two new shows: “The New Spirit: American Art in the Armory Show, 1913” and “Oscar Bluemner’s America: Picturing Paterson, New Jersey” (both, alas, closed June 16). Read More